Aachen dialect

Aachen dialect (Aachen German Öcher Platt) is the name of the dialect of Ripuarian Franconian spoken in the German Rhineland city of Aachen. This dialect, as part of the large West Germanic dialect continuum, is to a large extent similar to the dialects spoken in Eschweiler and in Stolberg.

Aachen dialect has a tonal component, which, like Welsh English, is often described as "singsongy" by the layman. It is perhaps closest to the Vaals (Vólsj), Bocholtz (Boches) and Kerkrade (Kirchröadsj) dialects, which are spoken in the Netherlands, only few miles away.

Words

• The word Prentekopp (Standard German: Printenkopf) is a well used swear word
• Hömmele instead of the words sehr (very) or viel (a lot/much) - e.g. "Das hat aber hömmele Geld gekostet!" (But that cost a lot of money!)
• Öcher Mösch is a nickname for the Aachen boys choir (German: Aachener Domspatzen)
• Trottwa is used for pavement from the French trottoir
• Paraplü for an umbrella influenced by the French parapluie

Phrases

• A way to say goodbye in the sense of Bon Voyage is Komm jut zuhaus, waa!?
• Ich hab kalt! instead of Mir ist kalt! is used to mean "I'm cold" in English. (Standard Dutch: Ik heb het koud)
• To ask the way, Kennst du dich hier? is used rather than Kennst du dich hier aus?.
• The answer Hier kenn ich mich nicht! follows the same idea
• Och Herm! is said when expressing pity (Standard Dutch: Och arme)
• Au Hur! (lit. old whore, Standard Dutch: Oude hoer) is used as a statement of astonishment in every circumstance, often coupled with the ubiquitous waa. In somewhat higher society, the stand-in swear word Au Banan! (old banana) is particularly used.
• The interjection Aah suae? is also prevalent instead of the standard German versions Ach so? (So?) and Tatsächlich? (Really?).
• The waa (originally "is it true?") somehow resembles the English "isn't it?", or "is it?" that some speakers customarily append to their sentences. Standard German would be nicht wahr? or oder?. In Standard Dutch the corresponding question tag is "of wat", the 't' being silent in most southern dialects; meaning 'or what?'.

Literature

• Ludewig Rovenhagen: Wörterbuch der Aachener Mundart, Aachen, 1912.
• Prof. Dr. Will Herrmanns, Rudolf Lantin (editor): Aachener Sprachschatz. Wörterbuch der Aachener Mundart. Beiträge zur Kultur- und Wirtschaftsgeschichte Aachens und Seiner Umgebung, Band 1. Im Auftrag des Vereins „Öcher Platt“ für den Druck überarbeitet und herausgegeben von Dr. Rudolf Lantin. 2 Bände. Verlag J. A. Mayer, 1970. ISBN 3-87519-011-4
• Adolf Steins: Grammatik des Aachener Dialekts. Herausgegeben von Klaus-Peter Lange. Rheinisches Archiv Band 141. Böhlau-Verlag, Kölle, Weimar, Wien, 1998. ISBN 3-412-07698-8
• Dr. Karl Allgeier, Jutta Baumschulte, Meinolf Baumschulte, Richard Wolfgarten: Aachener Dialekt - Wortschatz, Öcher Platt - Hochdeutsch und Hochdeutsch - Öcher Platt. Öcher Platt e.V. Aachen, 2000.

External links

• http://www.oecher-platt.de/

This article is based on its German equivalent.